Colorado's health insurance marketplace deadline extended to Friday

Coloradans have until midnight Friday to sign up through the state's new marketplace for health insurance that should begin Jan. 1.
Connect for Health Colorado officials made the announcement Tuesday - an about-face extension that came after the exchange logged 5,354 new enrollees on Monday,...

Coloradans have until midnight Friday to sign up through the state's new marketplace for health insurance that should begin Jan. 1.

Connect for Health Colorado officials made the announcement Tuesday - an about-face extension that came after the exchange logged 5,354 new enrollees on Monday, the previous deadline day for people who wanted health insurnace coverage to begin with the new year.

New enrollees must pay their insurance companies by Jan. 10 to ensure coverage and to remain in good standing.

"There were just a lot of people who wanted to make the deadline who couldn't," said Ben Davis, the marketplace's spokesman. He added that the marketplace was "at capacity yesterday (Monday), but there were no technical problems."

Exchanges across the nation have issued deadline extensions in recent months, changing the rules several times after some technology setbacks and a rush of enrollments in December.

President Barack Obama gave an extra day for people in the 36 states using the federal exchange to sign up for coverage that's effective Jan. 1.

Colorado marketplace initially officials held firm on Monday's deadline - saying only that they'd work with people after midnight Monday to get coverage on Jan. 1.

Colorado's exchange, called Connect for Health Colorado, runs seperately from its federal counterpart.

After the deadline passed, however, Colorado officials formally extended it through midnight Friday.

The extension means that insurance compaines will have to process new enrollments more quickly, but carriers are ready to handle the tight turn-around, said Marc Reece, with the Colorado Association of Health Plans, an insurance carrier trade group.

Enrollments through Colorado's marketplace picked up dramatically in December after a lackluster first two months of business. Still, far fewer people than expected have purchased plans through the exchange.

From Oct. 1 through Monday, the marketplace has tallied 42,771 enrollees.